Thanks to the success of Sherlock Holmes and the high hopes for the sequel (which announced its official subtitle today), it would seem that Guy Ritchie is quickly becoming a go-to guy for Warner Bros. At least he is if rumours are to be believed, with Vulture hearing that the studio has offered him the job of making 300 follow-up Xerxes.
Of course, Xerxes, given its ties to both the Spartan film and Frank Miller’s work, was originally on Zack Snyder’s to-do list, with the director talking it up at every opportunity.
But now Snyder's committed to making the studio’s new Superman film (a ticking time clock on the rights means Warners needs Snyder to focus on that so that the movie can enter production this year), and it would seem that the executives are less willing to wait to cash in on the success of 300.
Xerxes, which according to Miller is set 10 years before the battle of Thermopylae, takes place over a much longer time period, with scope for even more brutal battle action and a wider scope. The towering, godhood-seeking warrior (as played in 300 by Rodrigo Santoro) oversees more than one huge conflict.
It remains to be seen whether Ritchie takes the job – or if he was even offered it in the first place – but it would certainly signal an even bigger leap away from his Lock, Stock years than Sherlock Holmes…